WCAI Responds to NAB President Gordon Smith’s Keynote

WCAI President and CEO Fred Campbell released the following statement in response to NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith’s keynote address at the NAB conference:

“Broadcasters say the spectrum crisis would be solved once the mobile broadband providers build out the spectrum they recently acquired at auction. The fallacy here is that demand projections supporting the need for more spectrum already assume all previously auctioned spectrum will be built out. Broadcasters are the ones warehousing spectrum they received for free and use to serve only ten percent of the population.”

WCAI 4G Caucus Wraps Up with Discussions on Backhaul, LTE Migration, 3.65 GHz Regulations

The WCAI’s 4G Caucus wrapped up today with a semi-annual, member-only joint meeting of the Engineering and Regional Operator committees. The two-day event generated a lot of productive debates and announcements, including from FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Ruth Milkman, who said the Commission yesterday circulated an NPRM in response to the WCAI’s 2.5 GHz OOBE (out-of-band emissions) petition. The announcement is great news for the wireless broadband industry in the U.S. as it represents an important step toward harmonizing the 2.5 GHz band internationally and realizing the economies of scope and scale.

During the committee meeting’s roundtable discussion today, WCAI members addressed such issues as 4G network backhaul, migration to LTE and the impact it has on regional operators, as well as regulatory issues facing the 3.65 GHz band. Excellent presentations were delivered by LBA Group CTO Chris Horne, DragonWave CTO Erik Boch, Sioux Valley Wireless Technical Director Joel Brick, and JAB Broadband VP, Technical Operations, Bret Westwood. Also at the meeting, WCAI Regulatory Counsel Paul Sinderbrand of Wilkinson Barker Knauer provided a comprehensive update on key regulatory issues facing the industry and advised the members on how best to address them.

We at WCAI would like to thank everyone who helped make the 4G Caucus a success, especially our speakers, sponsors and media/research partners.

We look forward to seeing you again at 4G World on October 24-27 in Chicago. Please use WCAI discount code (4GWMS22) to save $200 on registration and support WCAI.

WCAI 4G Caucus Kicks Off with Discussions on Spectrum, AT&T/T-Mobile Merger, 4G Migration Strategies

Gerry Salemme, Partner at Eagle River, kicked off the WCAI 4G Caucus this morning with a fireside chat keynote led by WCAI President Fred Campbell. In a lively discussion of the future of mobile technologies Mr. Salemme spoke about the growing data demand and spectrum issues, the AT&T/T-Mobile merger and the chances of its approval, the gaining momentum of LTE and its potential impact on Clearwire and regional players in the 2.5 GHz band, as well as the economy and the availability of investment capital affecting 4G network deployment in the U.S. Mr. Salemme, who is an advisor to the Clearwire CEO on business and spectrum strategy, also clarified the relationship between Clearwire and Sprint, saying that it’s “more cooperative than people expect.”

The opening keynote was followed by a panel on 4G network migration strategies led by one of the most distinguished industry analysts Berge Ayvazian of Heavy Reading. During the panel, experts from Sprint, AT&T, FiberTower and Tessco discussed their views on the transition from 3G to 4G networks, key challenges of the migration the industry faces, and how policy management solutions can help manage the transition.

Still ahead is the day packed with lively discussions and networking opportunities. Iyad Tarazi, Vice President, Network Development and Engineering at Sprint, will speak about how Sprint’s Network Vision is expected to consolidate multiple network technologies into one, seamless network. Following his keynote presentation, Mr. Campbell of WCAI will lead the discussion on adapting regulations to the new realities of 4G technologies. The panel will feature FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Ruth Milkman, along with regulatory experts from AT&T, Sprint, Clearwire and Wilkinson Barket Knauer.

Other program highlights include a keynote from Sybase an SAP Company on real-time actionable intelligence strategies for 4G operators; a keynote from Alvarion on building 4G smart grid, as well as panel discussions on broadband spectrum options for smart grid applications and on fixed wireless innovations.

Wrapping up the first day of the event will be the popular WCAI Networking Dinner at Ruth’s Chris, one of the best steak houses in town.

So if you are not already here, come join us for the exciting day of discussions and networking!

UK Recognizes the Need for More Spectrum and Announces Plans for Its Largest Auction Ever

Everyone has probably heard the National Association of Broadcasters’ (NAB) assertion that there is no spectrum crunch. Many have refuted NAB’s claim, including FCC Chairman Genachowski. Further evidence can be found overseas in the UK, which just announced its plans to hold its largest ever single auction of additional spectrum for mobile services in the UK, equivalent to three quarters of the mobile spectrum in use today. The UK regulator, Ofcom, has come to the same conclusion as the FCC: More mobile spectrum is essential to meet the demands of increasing mobile traffic. If the U.S. doesn’t make additional mobile spectrum available as well, it risks falling behind the UK and other countries in mobile wireless innovation. The U.S. shouldn’t allow that to happen.

Report Shows Consumers Are Making Smart Choices about Wireless Billing Overages

Today the Wireless Communications Association International (WCAI) released a study analyzing overages on wireless consumer bills. The report was authored by Roger Entner of Recon Analytics, who was previously a Senior Vice President at The Nielsen Company. The study, which analyzed more than 78,000 customer bills, found that less than half a percent of consumers experience overages that could even be considered candidates for the pejorative “shocking.” The other 99.7% of consumers actually save money by incurring the occasional overage rather than paying a higher, recurring rate for an upgraded plan. In other words, nearly every single wireless consumer studied was better off incurring some overages than upgrading to a plan they don’t need.

This means that the rules proposed by the FCC would benefit, at most, 0.3% of consumers. At the same time, all wireless consumers would be subject to repeated messages warning them of potential overages. All wireless consumers would also bear the cost of the upgrades wireless service providers would be required to make in order to comply with the FCC’s proposed regulations. If the FCC intends to adhere to President Obama’s Executive Order directing agencies to “propose or adopt a regulation only upon a reasoned determination that its benefits justify its costs,” the FCC should not adopt its proposed “bill shock” rules. There is no reasonable basis for imposing costly regulations on wireless service providers and subjecting all consumers to repeated notices in order to prevent 0.3% of consumers from incurring uneconomic overages.

WCAI Applauds President Obama’s National Wireless Initiative

U.S. President Barack Obama Thursday outlined his plan for expanding high-speed wireless Internet service to 98% of Americans as part of the Administration’s National Wireless Initiative. The speech came after President Obama viewed a demonstration of a WiMAX system operated by Northern Michigan University in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on EBS spectrum.

“WCAI applauds the Obama Administration’s commitment to bring wireless broadband service to all Americans, including in rural areas, and to promote investment in America’s broadband infrastructure,” WCAI President and CEO Fred Campbell said in a statement. “As the only broadband platform that is capable of providing access everywhere, all the time, and at affordable prices, wireless broadband is essential to improving education, creating new jobs and growing the American economy. We look forward to working with President Obama, the FCC and Congress to implement this initiative.”

The key elements of the administration’s plan are:

• Freeing up 500 MHz of spectrum, including the use of “voluntary incentive auctions” and more efficient use of government spectrum, estimated to raise $27.8 billion over the next decade.

• Provide at least 98% of Americans with access to 4G high-speed wireless via a one-time investment of $5 billion and reform of the Universal Service Fund.

• Catalyze innovation by devoting $3 billion of the spectrum proceeds to a Wireless Investment (WIN) fund supporting research and development of emerging wireless technologies and applications.

• A $10.7 billion commitment to support the development and deployment of a nationwide wireless broadband network to afford public safety agencies with far greater levels of effectiveness and interoperability. An important element of this plan is the reallocation of the D Block for public safety and $500 million within the WIN Fund.

• $9.6 Billion of spectrum auction revenue will be devoted to deficit reduction.
  

Further information may become available when the Administration releases its budget proposal next week.

It Was 15 Years Ago Today….

Author: Bob Quinn, Sr. Vice President - Federal Regulatory, AT&T

Maybe that doesn’t have the toe tapping groove of the opening line from Sgt. Pepper but it seems a fitting way to mark the 15th Anniversary of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. And, maybe the occasion won’t get the same play that Facebook got for its 7th anniversary last week, but that law was the first major overhaul of America’s communications rules since the 1930s.
Think back to what “communications” meant when Congress wrote that law.

People were dialing up the Internet to access their Prodigy or CompuServe accounts. But perhaps the great technological innovation of 1996 was America Online’s introduction of the Buddy List to make IM’ing easier. Speaking of AOL, around that time, there was a memorable Time magazine cover story with the headline, “AOL Wins!” Try saying that in front of a mirror today and keeping a straight face. On the wireless front, about 38 million Americans were subscribers and their phone calls went out over the nation’s 24,000 cell towers. Today, there are about 295 million subscribers whose communication goes out over more than 250,000 cell towers.

Your phone was only slightly smaller than your shoe (The first Motorola StarTac wouldn’t hit the market until later in 1996). You watched movies on your VHS recorder, which had finally won the technology battle with Sony’s Betamax, although there was a new DVD technology just coming on the market. You may have finally purchased a car with a CD player but you probably still ran with a Walkman (the Discman still skipped while running). And this new DirecTV satellite video service was making me think I might want to replace my Continental Cable service. iPods? iPhones? iPads? Didn’t exist. I mean, Steve Jobs wasn’t even working at Apple again yet. Satellite radio? Sorry, not for another couple years. Laptops….really expensive. You Tube? Facebook? Google? Mark Zuckerberg was 12, and Larry and Sergey were PhD candidates who had known each other less than a year. Heck, the Today Show was hosted by Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel instead of Matt and Meredith.

So, a lot’s changed since then.

At the time, no one envisioned the world we live in today. The entire regulatory silo landscape underlying the ’96 Act has collapsed. Cable, Skype and Google competing with plain old telephone service? Long distance a distant memory? Cutting the cord and going wireless only? Watching “TV” over the Internet? Surfing the Internet on a wireless broadband connection? Not really part of the plan in the mid-90s. The idea of integrated services wasn’t fully understood 15 years ago. Does anyone really think we fully grasped the importance of broadband in 1996? Of course, not. How could we? No one could have predicted the extraordinary impact it would have on our lives.

And here we are operating under a regulatory structure that was built around a marketplace that has virtually disappeared. Which leads us to today’s FCC Open Meeting.

The FCC is expected to launch a proceeding that has an almost eerie feeling of late-90s “déjà vu all over again.” The Commission is once again looking at whether to reform two subsidy programs whose problems have hung over the communications marketplace for more than a decade: the Universal Service Fund (USF) and Intercarrier Compensation (ICC).

We salute the Commission for recognizing the need to modernize these broken systems. To state the obvious, we will not realize President Obama’s goal of universal broadband, if USF and ICC are not aligned to the realities of today’s innovative technologies and marketplace. Broadband simply will not be made available to some consumers if the government continues to reward and require providers to offer plain old telephone service in the same way those providers have been delivering service for the past 100 years.

It truly is time to re-examine our communications priorities. At AT&T, we think we should have a clear vision of where we are going. Here is what we think the world will look like: we will move the goal of all Americans having universal access to voice service to one where the goal is provide universal access to broadband service. Broadband is and will continue to be an interstate service and the service will not be “split” (or separated if you like) between federal and state jurisdictions.

The PSTN will ultimately go the way of the Betamax, the VHS player and the Walkman and we will understand that that is a good thing. Broadband subsidies will be only for broadband, will be explicit and provided only in areas where broadband would not exist without the subsidy. We will not subsidize different competitors in a market. The regulatory obligations that attach to those subsidies will be explicit as well.

In recent days, the Commission has seen a parade of companies (often regulatory adversaries) including Google, AT&T, NCTA, NTCA, Verizon, Sprint and others urge reform of the broken, non-transparent subsidy programs. The fact that such a disparate group of competitors has come together should be a sign that the time for the Commission to act is now. I think the Chairman’s speech yesterday and the action by the Commission today do a great job of beginning this long overdue journey.

Reprinted from the AT&T Public Policy Blog.